November 27, 2000
Academic Senate endorses written evaluations
Faculty rejects plan to make 'narratives' optional
By Jim Burns
UCSC's Academic Senate on Monday reaffirmed its commitment to the campus's longstanding
Narrative Evaluation System. The special session of the senate produced two critical
votes on the subject: one rejecting a proposal that would have made the writing of
"narratives" optional for faculty, and a second that supported UCSC's "commitment
to multidimensional assessment of student performance."
The votes drew a thunderous ovation from the students who were able to squeeze into
the lecture hall and from the dozens more who listened to the proceedings via a speaker
system set up outside.
"We're doing some things right at UCSC, and part of what we're doing right is
the NES [Narrative Evaluation System]," noted professor of linguistics James
McCloskey, one of many faculty who rose to speak during the course of the nearly
two-hour debate.
The meeting on Monday (November 27) appeared to bring to a close 12 months of senate
discussion about the manner in which UCSC assesses student performance. As a result
of the pro-NES vote--and a vote on letter grades that was finalized only a month
ago--students who enter UCSC next fall will receive letter grades in most of their
courses and narratives in all of them.
Some of the speakers at Monday's meeting said the NES requirement leads to the production
of a large number of narratives that are not "meaningful" to the students
for whom they are written. Manfred Warmuth, a professor of computer science and coauthor
of the proposal to make the writing of narratives optional, argued that the campus's
founders never intended for narratives to be required in all classes.
More faculty, however, said the NES provides an important source of feedback for
students. Carol Freeman, chair of UCSC's Writing Program and the senate's Committee
on Educational Policy, said CEP had considered--and rejected--a handful of suggestions
for reforming the Narrative Evaluation System. Requiring narratives in only small
classes, for example, could reduce feedback in the classes students take in their
majors, Freeman said. Requiring narratives in only upper-division courses, she added,
would delay the feedback that NES supporters say the system provides.
Making narratives optional, Freeman concluded, would have "unpredictable consequences"
while devaluing "what UCSC stands for."
In a voice vote reaffirming the NES, senators strongly endorsed a resolution authored
by psychology professor Barbara Rogoff and linguistics professor William Ladusaw
and cosigned by approximately 200 other faculty members. "Our decision today
can provide leadership nationally," said Rogoff, noting that other campuses
are considering expanding their student assessment systems beyond grades.
The Rogoff-Ladusaw Reform Resolution did more than endorse the principle of written
evaluations. According to a summary distributed at the meeting, the resolution proposed:
- That the senate's "Committee on Educational Policy issue revised guidelines
for writing evaluations, emphasizing that evaluations should succinctly report the
quality and characteristics of student performance and stressing flexibility for
instructors in determining the extent of their evaluations."
- That the "administration provide support to simplify the process of writing
evaluations, with software and transitional staff consultants to assist interested
faculty with templates and records."
- That "fair policies for oversight of timeliness, if any are necessary, be
devised jointly by faculty and administration."
- "Continuing support for the Registrar's work to reformat the transcript as a concise and professionally formatted document."
Last December, UC Santa Cruz's Academic Senate postponed a vote on the campus's
Narrative Evaluation System at a meeting that attracted approximately 1,000 student
supporters of the longstanding practice. That special session had been prompted by
a petition signed by more than 170 members of the senate who recommended that the
campus's Narrative Evaluation System be replaced by the conventional UC grading system.
At the senate's next meeting, on February 23, the senate approved the grades portion
of the legislation. That legislation continues to permit UCSC undergraduate students
to take courses on a Pass/No Pass (P/NP) basis. But, beginning with new undergraduates
entering in fall 2001, no more than 25 percent of the UCSC course work that they
apply toward graduation credit can be taken on a P/NP basis. No such threshold will
exist for current students or new students entering UCSC before then.
On March 31, the senate office received a letter from 27 members of the senate requesting
that a "mail ballot" be issued asking all members to weigh in on the proposal
to implement UC's conventional grading system next fall.
At the senate's spring-quarter meeting, a discussion of the NES was postponed after
a student protest blocked the entrances to the meeting hall.
Just last month, the results of the mail ballot on grades were announced by senate
chair Roger Anderson. By a 240-154 vote, the senate reaffirmed the February vote
implementing UC's conventional grading system.
Previous Currents stories on the grades/NES:
Mail ballot at UCSC reaffirms earlier grades vote (October 31, 2000)
Senate letter regarding new 'mail ballot' on grades (September 25, 2000)
Student protest delays discussion of narratives until fall quarter (May 31, 2000)
A message concerning the senate's 'mail ballot' (May 29, 2000)
Count of 'mail ballot' on grades placed on hold pending ruling (May 15, 2000)
Senate's vote on grades goes to 'mail ballot' (April 10, 2000)
Academic Senate adopts UC's conventional grading system (Feb. 28, 2000)
Debate on NES continues at Convocation on Teaching (Feb. 21, 2000)
Annual Convocation on Teaching will focus on NES (Feb. 14, 2000)
NES forums continue; decision expected at senate meeting (Jan. 31, 2000)
First 'narratives' forum produces two quite different perspectives (Jan. 24, 2000)
Continuing the discussion of the NES (Jan. 10, 2000)
Senate narrowly postpones vote on narrative evaluations (Dec. 6, 1999)
Proposal to eliminate 'narratives' goes before Academic Senate (Nov. 22, 1999)
